UNITED KINGDOM

Bailout for Dubai; Citi Seeks Independence; CadburyBid Battle

British energy regulator Ofgem has announced a shortlist of six bidders competing to connect nine offshore wind projects to the grid in the first stage of a programme to connect up some 33 gigawatts (GW) by 2020.

Britain's Cadbury said it has received interest from other bidders after raising its growth targets and reporting upbeat trading, as it dismissed a 10 billion pound ($16.5 billion) bid from Kraft Foods .

Britain's Cadbury Plc said it has received interest from other bidders after raising its growth targets and reporting upbeat trading as it dismissed a 10 billion pound ($16.5 billion) bid from Kraft Foods .

Britain's Cadbury Plc raised its long-term growth targets and reported upbeat trading as it dismissed a 10 billion pound ($16.5 billion) bid from Kraft Foods , kicking off a seven-week fight for its independence.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher opening on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.59 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.39 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.49 percent.

To all extents and purposes, 2009 is over for investors and the coming week will be dominated by the issues of 2010.

The Aussie dollar was unable to hold onto momentum gained by Thursday's stellar employment report peaking near 92 cents during Friday's European session.

Cadbury and U.S. rival Hershey have held talks over a possible friendly bid by the American firm, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing market sources.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met at an Afghan air base on Sunday, aiming to fix a relationship that has grown bitter as the Afghan war grows deadlier and more unpopular.

An “innovative” global tax on financial transactions should help pay for the nearly $150 billion in expenses needed by 2020 to fight climate change in developing countries, the leaders of France and the United Kingdom said on Friday.

A steel plant in northeast England due to close in January will likely get its 2010 quota of free European carbon permits, a windfall worth around 100 million euros ($147.3 million), the UK government said on Friday.

The tiny Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu got the world's attention this week in Copenhagen when its proposal for strong, legally binding emissions pacts for all nations held up the work of international climate talks.

Cadbury Plc (CBRY.L) will argue for its independence on Monday with a defense document set to highlight its upbeat trading and show that its valuation is way above that of Kraft Food's (KFT.N) bid, analysts said on Friday.

Cadbury Plc will argue for its independence on Monday with a defence document set to highlight its upbeat trading and show that its valuation is way above that of Kraft Food's bid, analysts said on Friday.

The European Union urged the International Monetary Fund on Friday to pursue a global tax on financial transactions to limit the risk of another economic crisis, despite U.S. opposition.

European leaders promised on Friday to provide developing countries with 7.3 billion euros ($10.8 billion) over three years to try to win their support for a climate change deal in Copenhagen.

Britain will contribute along with France at least 1.5 billion pounds ($2.44 billion) to climate finance funding for 2010-2012, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Friday.

Flight Near for Dreamliner; Bailout Funds for Small Biz; U.S. Credit Remains Top Level

Europe's new military transport plane, the Airbus A400M, made its first test flight on Friday as buyers resumed talks on how to keep the delayed 20 billion euro ($29.5 billion) project airborne.

The top sovereign credit ratings of Britain and the United States are not under threat of a downgrade right now, but a worst case scenario foresees a cut by 2013, analysts from Moody's Investors Service said on Friday.